Toy house.



n. 1 85mm. rov Housjg. APPLICATION FILED OCT- I3, 1917.

1,258,086. Patented-Mam. 5,1918.

2 shins-gain 2.

HOWARD J. BENNETT, 0F OPPORTUNITY, WASHINGTON.

TOY HOUSE.

Specification of Letters ratent.

Patented Mar. 5, 1918-.

Application filed October 13, 1917. Serial No. 196,413.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HOWARD J. BENNETr, a citizen of the United States, residing at Opportunity, in the county of Spokane and State of Washington, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in 'Toy Houses, of which the following is a speci fication.

The present invention relates to improvements in toy houses, of the knock down type, and preferably made of cardboard or similar material, with interlocking features for securing the members of the house or structure together,

The primary object of the invention is the provision of a toy of this type which will be attractive, and educational, so far as concerns children, and which may be compactly arranged for storing and shipping which may be quickly and easily erected, and which is stable and durable in its construction, and to this end the invention consists in certain. novel features, and combinations and arrangements, of parts, as will be hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings one complete example of the physical embodiment of the invention is illustrated, made and arranged according to the best mode so far devised for the practical application of the principles of the invention. The structure as illustrated in the drawings has been reduced to practice and proven highly successful in use.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the toy house complete, partly broken away for convenience of illustration.

Fig. 2 is aview in elevation of the front wall.

Fig. 3 is a view of the transverse partition.

Fig. 4 is a view of the longitudinal partition.

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of the toy house.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the package into which the parts of the house are formed for storing or shipping.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged detail view showing one of the wall locking corners and a part of the ceiling.

Fig. 8 is a detail view showi one form of ornamentation for the walls 0 the house.

In the perferred embodiment of the invention as illustrated in the drawings, the structure is made up of card board, pressed paper, or similar material, and is supported from a foundation member which comprises the floor indicated by the numeral 1, and the four sills designated 2, and arranged in rectangular form, to support the structure when it is erected, and to form a receptacle into which the remaining portions of the structure may be deposited for packing and shipping, as indicated in Fig. 6.

The flooring of the receptacle, which forms the base or foundation of the house, is slotted as at 3, 3, and these slots extend transversely of the house and are preferably located at the four corners, intermediate of the front and rear edges of the base, and approximately midway the depth of the house base and an additional transverse slot is provided in the flooring at approximately the center of the house base. In addition to these enumerated, transversely extending slots 3, a pair of longitudinally extending slots 4 are provided near the front and rear ends of the base, and these slots 3 and l are designed to receive locking members on the superstruc-' ture of the house which includes the front wall 5, rear wall 6, side walls 7, transverse partition 8, and longitudinal partition 9. In the several figures of. the drawing it will be observed that these vertically arranged members of the house are each fashioned with depending tongues 10 at their lower edges, and that the tongues register with the slot 3 and 4, so that when the walls and partitions are erected these tongues are passed through the complementary slots, and the vertical members are locked to the base by the utilization of wedge keys 11 passed through slots 12 in the several tongues 10. Thus, in erecting the structure the four walls and partitions are disposed in their proper places with their tongues projecting through their complementary slots in the floor, and when locked with the wedge keys, they form four rooms or com partments. The partitions are interlocked by means of the two slots 13 and 14:, the former in the lower portion of the transverse partition 8 and the latter in the upper portion of the longitudinal partition 9, the two partitions providing a cruciform structure in a well known manner. The front and rear walls respectively, are braced by being fitted up in the slits 15 15 at the respective ends of the longitudinal partition 4 v (see Fig. 4 especially).

The roof structure as shown, is preferably of the gable type and comprises the front section 16, rear section 17 and the two side sections 18, 18, disposed on slanting lines as seen in Figs. 1 and 5, and these sections are sustained and supported from the vertical walls and partitions of the house, through the utilization of the kerfs 19, cut in the lower edges of the roof sections, and the tongues 20 with their inclined kerfs 21. The tongues or extensions 20 are formed on the front and rear walls and on the two partitions, only, and as seen in Fig. 1 there are proyided three supporting extensions at the sides of the house and one each at the front and rear, so that Whenthe roof sections are placed in position b interlocking the kerfs 19 with the incline kerfs 21, they will be securely fastened in place at their lower edges. At the adjoining edges of the respective roof sections, the sides 18 18 are fashioned with front and rear mortises or recesses 22, and the front roof section 16 and rear roof section 17 are each formed with end tenons 23 fitting in the mortises 22, to strengthen and brace the roof structure.

A ceiling is provided for the four rooms of the house by fitting the boards 24, 24 on the top edges of the front and rear walls and two partitions, which are cut-away for the purpose, as indicated at 25 in Figs. 2, 3, 1, and 7.

For compactl storing the members of the house when pac or shipping, the base is inverted and the hat members are nested therein, and then retained therein by the two bands 26 26 (as in Fig. 6) I which are shown as extending across the open base with their ends pasted to the inner faces of the side sills 2, 2.

The walls are of course provided with the usual door and window openings, and the partitions are also fashioned with openings to provide communication between the rooms, and the walls may be decorated or ornamented in any suitable manner. If desired, the window and door openings, wall designs, etc., may be imprinted in thecardboard or material of which the walls are constructed, and the colors may be added'thereto by a child, using his or her own ideas as to color schemes, for both the interior and exterior decoration, as for instance, siding or brick may be walls, tile or brick for the porch floor 27 (Figs. 1 and 5) shingles for the roof, and suitable interior decorations as shown for the inside walls of the house. If the structure is to be used only temporarily, the wedges 11 may be omitted, and-the superstructure will be braced by its interlocking features and supported on the base by tongues 10, but for a permanent structure, the wedges or keysll are used.

What is claimed herein is 1. The combination in a toy house with a base portion slotted as described, the four walls, and a pair of diametrically arranged partitions, all secured to the slotted base and having tongues projecting therethrough, of roof sections having edge slots, and upper, end, extensions on some of said walls, and the partitions, having inclined slots to receive the slotted roof sections.

2. The combination in a toy-house superrepresented on the side,

structure with walls having upper, end, ex-

tensions provided with inclined slots, of roof sections having edge slots fitted in the slotted extensions and the adjoining edges f said roof sections having a mortise and tenon joint for locking said sections together.

3. The'combination in a toy house with a base portion slotted as described, the four walls, and a air of diametrically arranged interior partitions, locking tongues on said members projecting through theslotted base and locking wedge keys therefor, of roof sections having mortise and tenon joints at their adjoining edges and provided with slots at their lower edges, and extensions with inclined slots at the upper ends of some of the walls and said partltions to receive the slotted roof sections, said Walls and partitions having decorative designs impressed thereon.

In testimony whereof HOWARD J. BENNETT.

I atlix my signature. 

